Critical Accident Investigation Team

Sherman Police Department’s Critical Accident Investigation Team (CAIT) is responsible for conducting on-scene and follow-up investigations of vehicle crashes resulting in the death or serious physical injury of a person or other vehicle crashes deemed necessary for an extensive analysis based upon circumstances presented at the time.

Officers assigned to the CAIT are on-call and respond to crashes at any time in all sorts of weather conditions. CAIT members attend highly technical courses in photography, crash reconstruction, pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, commercial, night-time crash investigation, vehicle occupant kinematics, crash data recorder analysis and interpretation, and utilizing video evidence to reconstruct a crash. CAIT officers also receive extensive instruction to interpret data collected at the scenes and other evidence to determine vehicle speeds using algebra, physics, geometry, and calculus.

One of the most crucial components in the investigation of motor vehicle collisions is the measurement of the scene. Officers use lasers to measure the scene to record the limits of the roadway and document the location of the vehicles and other evidence. Measurements, data, evidence, and witness statements may be used in the investigation to determine how the crash occurred, the speed of a vehicle involved in the crash, and/or to determine criminal culpability in a crash.